19th century catholic spirituality emphasized very much the confidence in the providence of God and was aspiring to live always in the presence of God fulfilling the will of God. All events were considered as “the will of God”; it was far from “a healthy secularity” prudently admitted by the Vatican council II.
Claret lived this spirituality as a man of his time and in all the stages of his life he took efforts to keep alive the presence of God and fulfilling his will. Claret relied on God for everything and was thankful for his gifts also for the persecutions and slanders he had to suffer.
In all this there is “a timely message” for our times, because the developments of sciences, and technology, the autonomy of the so called “secondary causes” and the logical process of the secularism of life, the current neoliberal system of life lead us in no way to rely on God.
But we need not return to 19th century spirituality. In our 21st century, the point of reference of all our Christian spirituality is Jesus with his Gospel of dignified and just, filial and fraternal life for all. It is a spirituality of winning over the injustices, crises and sufferings that “are not the will of God”, but consequence of selfishness, greediness and human injustice.
God became man in Jesus to create a world of better relationships among the persons, among the nations and with the very nature itself. And to create this world, the God of Jesus needs us; it is our responsibility. He loves us and need us.
Do we rely on God? Do we know and take up his project of life?